As I've said, I just got this bike and haven't had time to give it a good go through yet, so I'm not certain where I'm at with maintenance. I'm also not very familiar with this motorcycle in the first place, but I'm learning. At any rate, I had a flat on the Roadie today, which didn't culminate in a blowout, fortunately. Anyway, I had the trashy tires on it (worn flat) replaced with ME880's. I wanted WWW's, but they didn't have them in stock and I didn't want to be held up, since I ride to work daily, so I took the black ones. When they were changing the back tire, they called me to say my back brake pads were totally gone and grinding, so I had them put some new pads in. This little bit of work has cleared up the funky noises I was hearing coming from the back of the bike (tire whine and brake chatter) and with the new tires, it handles much more like a motorcycle and less like a dump truck.

Since the tires and rear brake pads helped so much, I'm looking at replacing wear parts and maintenance actions as serious performance mods, since the bike was obviously neglected prior to my ownership and a little attention will go a long way. If you have a service manual handy, I'm planning on doing every single procedure listed in the index of chapter three. Is there anything special I should pay attention to that isn't listed in the service manual? Does this bike have any specific problem areas I should know about? The AIS isn't making my bike pop on decel, but I've always torn it out of my bikes in the past and I intend to do it again. Also, what's the chrome box on the left side of the motor? I want to get rid of it. I'm pretty sure that'll require the relocation of the choke knob. Is there a standard relocation mod that's well understood? I'm just trying to make sure I have all the latest, greatest information in mind when I get started. Thanks for reading.

Patrick

Might help if you tell what year it is... I am sure there is some different things with different years to look for..

Oil and filter (I use Shell Rotella T full synth and a SuperTech 7713 filter); nut and bolt (tighten every nut and bolt on the bike...I do this 2x/year), lube the cables and controls...check lights...that's the basics

Regards, Ted

That chrome box on the left side of the motor... that's your fuel pump and without doing some mods, you'll have to leave it there. There are options for you, many guys here have done one or the other:

1) Barons Fuel Pump Relocation Kit
This moves your fuel pump back behind the side cover. Most guys don't have any issues with this,
although some seem to have the occasional problem with ziptieing the fuel lines too tight. There is
also this article in the tech section to explain how to relocate the pump too.

2) Go Pumpless.
This requires actually ordering a part from a Suzuki dealer to replace the float bowl needle valve.
The parts shouldn't be more than $50 in the US, but up in Canada they were going to charge me $100
for it so I declined. Anyhow, the tech article lays it out really well and gives you the Suzuki part
#'s too so it's really easy to get what you're looking for.

If you want a specific opinion on either, just post away and you'll find guys here that can share their experiences with either one. But unfortunately, you can't just pull it off and be done with it!

TBA Stormin wrote:
Might help if you tell what year it is... I am sure there is some different things with different years to look for..

It's a 2001. The recall hasn't been done, so I'm trying to combine as much maintenance into the tranny recall work as possible to avoid paying labor on separate installs. So far, I'm looking at a clutch spring kit and the oil pump gear, but that's all I've got so far. The service department said they would install high compression pistons for a half hour labor cost while doing the recall, but I want to keep using cheap gas, so that's out.

markdyck wrote:
That chrome box on the left side of the motor... that's your fuel pump and without doing some mods, you'll have to leave it there. There are options for you, many guys here have done one or the other:

1) Barons Fuel Pump Relocation Kit
This moves your fuel pump back behind the side cover. Most guys don't have any issues with this,
although some seem to have the occasional problem with ziptieing the fuel lines too tight. There is
also this article in the tech section to explain how to relocate the pump too.

2) Go Pumpless.
This requires actually ordering a part from a Suzuki dealer to replace the float bowl needle valve.
The parts shouldn't be more than $50 in the US, but up in Canada they were going to charge me $100
for it so I declined. Anyhow, the tech article lays it out really well and gives you the Suzuki part
#'s too so it's really easy to get what you're looking for.

If you want a specific opinion on either, just post away and you'll find guys here that can share their experiences with either one. But unfortunately, you can't just pull it off and be done with it!

If I get rid of my pump, will I possibly need it when I go big bore with a 45mm Mikuni? If I'll need it later, I'd rather just leave it alone. Otherwise, it's gone. Thanks for the links, by the way.

I just purchased the Suzuki part for going pumpless on line at Babbits. The price was 49.00 including tax and shipping.

I have also relocated the fuel pump prior and the Baron's relocation kit makes it very easy and works well, if you decide to keep it.

If you go the 45 Mik then you don't need the pump.

Make sure to check all the bearings, especially those in the neck.

Doc

DocShadow wrote:
If you go the 45 Mik then you don't need the pump.

Make sure to check all the bearings, especially those in the neck.

Doc

Looks like I'll be running no fuel pump by Monday. I talked to the dealer about replacing the neck and swing arm bearings, new EBC's in front (just because the new ones out back feel so smooth), checking the valve clearance, replacing the fuel filter, throwing in the Yamaha 25% over stock grip clutch kit (whatever it's called, it's cheaper than Barnett's), replacing the oil pump gear, new spark plugs, etc. The engine oil/filter and tranny oil is covered by the recall. I'm probably forgetting something, but that should be the bulk of it. When I roll the bike when it's not running, I can hear a noise that bothers me. I'm thinking either the wheel bearings need to be replaced or there are some loose spokes. I haven't checked every spoke on the bike yet, but I'm going to be doing a lot of work in the garage tomorrow, so I'll probably get to it.

CruzN wrote:
When I roll the bike when it's not running, I can hear a noise that bothers me.

If it clicks when rolling backwards check the rear hub bearing.

Doc